Tallahassee and FSU police departments offer tips for a safe, enjoyable football game day experience

Thousands of FSU football fans converge on Doak Campbell Stadium during home game weekends. (FSU Photography Services)

The Tallahassee and Florida State Police Departments are working diligently to provide a safe and enjoyable experience for all of the 84,000-plus visitors who come to enjoy the home football games. In preparation for upcoming FSU and FAMU football games, they are reminding fans of the traffic pattern around the downtown area.

TRAFFIC INSTRUCTIONS: Fans are encouraged to use the following roadways to gain access to parking on and around FSU’s campus.

From the north, use Stadium Drive or Macomb Street to Pensacola Street.

From the east, use Pensacola or Gaines streets.

From the west, use Pensacola or Tennessee streets to Stadium Drive.

From the south, use Lake Bradford Road.

On several weekends during the season, there are home games at both universities and vehicle traffic will be heavy. Everyone is advised to add extra time for travel to ensure early arrival to the game and plan for some delays. Traffic will be especially heavy on Tennessee Street, West Pensacola Street, South Monroe Street, Gaines Street, Lake Bradford Road and Orange Avenue before and after games.

The traffic signals along West Pensacola Street will be set to “flash” pregame to give priority to westbound traffic traveling along that route toward Doak Campbell Stadium. TPD will be on post along this route two hours prior to the game. TPD will also take control of the lights and intersections once all personnel are on post. Other intersections closer to Doak Campbell Stadium will be controlled by TPD as much as five (5) hours before the start of the game.

Seminole Booster parking lots are:

Warrior Booster Lots: 12, 13, 17, 19, 25-29

Tomahawk Booster Lots: 7, 9, 10, 11, 14, 16, 21-23

Silver Booster Lots: 5, 8, 15

Golden Chief Booster Lots: 1-6

If you are parking in Seminole Booster lots 5, 6, 7, 8, 11 or 14, please approach the stadium from the east via West Pensacola Street. If you are parking in Booster lots 1, 2, 3, 4 or 18, please approach the stadium from the east via Gaines Street. If you are parking in Booster lots 25 or 13, the most direct route would be to take West Tennessee Street to Woodward Avenue to access these lots. All non-Booster traffic is encouraged to use either Tennessee Street or Lake Bradford Road and look for general parking directions using the free SeminoleSafe App (see below for more information about the app).

To get our visitors home as quickly as possible, West Pensacola Street will flow in an eastbound direction after the game. All lanes of West Pensacola Street will flow one-way away from the stadium, as will St. Augustine Street, in an effort to reduce the traffic congestion. After the game, all traffic signals along St. Augustine Street/Madison Street will be flashing to give priority to vehicles traveling eastbound, away from the stadium. Fans traveling eastbound on Pensacola Street will be directed north on Duval Street. Fans traveling eastbound on St. Augustine Street/Madison Street will be directed further eastbound on Apalachee Parkway. Fans traveling eastbound on Gaines Street will be directed south on Monroe Street.

There will be a detour established to keep fans leaving the game on Madison Street flowing continuously out Apalachee Parkway while also keeping surface traffic north and south on Monroe Street flowing. Southbound traffic on Monroe Street will be rerouted to College Avenue to travel under Apalachee Parkway via Franklin Blvd/East Lafayette Street and back to Monroe Street via Gaines Street. Northbound Monroe Street traffic will be routed to Gaines Street to travel under Apalachee Parkway via East Lafayette Street/Franklin Blvd and back to Monroe Street via College Avenue.

THE SPIRIT EXPRESS SHUTTLE: The Spirit Express Shuttle will be operated the same as the 2017 season. This bus service, operated by the City of Tallahassee/Star Metro, originates at the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center. The Spirit Express Shuttle will operate on Jefferson Street, which will be closed to through traffic, as the Spirit Express will use it during game time. The shuttle will be dropping passengers off on Varsity Drive just north of Jefferson Street with direct access to the Heritage Fountain and Doak Campbell Stadium on the new walkway.

Tickets for the shuttle are $5 per rider and will be on sale at the Tucker Center ticket office. Riders will be provided with an armband. Service begins two hours prior to kickoff. Accessible shuttles from Garage Number 5 (St. Augustine Street Garage) are available for fans with disabilities at no charge. No open containers or coolers are allowed on Spirit Express buses or accessible shuttles. Service ends one hour after the end of each game. For rides back to the Tucker Center after the game, riders must present their armbands to the driver for boarding.

COLLABORATION: The City of Tallahassee and Florida State University participate in numerous meetings throughout the spring in preparation for the football season. The following are several initiatives for the games:

A gate has been installed on the corner of Varsity Drive and St. Augustine Street for Lot 14 (Intramural Fields). This will allow for better pedestrian access.

More signage at multiple locations. Banners will be hung along Pensacola Street, as well as additional signs placed along all the routes.

Tallahassee Police Department will be on post along Pensacola Street two hours prior to the game. TPD will also take control of the lights and intersections once all personnel are on post.

Fans are encouraged to arrive early and plan for some delays. Please follow directions of law enforcement while traveling to and from the game.

FAMU and FSU share home games on the following dates: Sept. 22 and Oct. 27.

The SeminoleSafe App: This is the official mobile safety tool of Florida State University. Fans can refer to the SeminoleSafe App under tab GAME DAY GUIDE for real-time updates and additional information for home football games from direct turn-by-turn directions to their designated Booster or general parking lot, clear bag policy and instructions, prohibited items inside the stadium and real-time weather data on campus. Fans can also download the Waze Traffic App via SeminoleSafe. All game day traffic routes both pregame and postgame are entered into the app to provide the most direct routes taking into consideration detours, closures and congestion.